Chapter 36: I Picked It Up

The era of "A Chinese Ghost Story" is a time of great turmoil, with demons and spirits running rampant across the land. The authorities, powerless to apprehend criminals, have resorted to issuing numerous wanted posters, allowing "righteous men" among the populace to capture suspects in exchange for bounties.

While the world seems chaotic and filled with countless murderers and arsonists, it is still far better than the times depicted in the sequel. At the very least, in the current period, although local vigilantes are ruthless, in the vicinity of Guo Bei County, they still only target the guilty. If one were to wait a few more years when the world descends into further chaos, they would likely arrest anyone indiscriminately, as long as they could make an arrest.

Earlier, when Ning Caichen first entered Guo Bei County, he was forcibly checked against a wanted poster by a group of these vigilantes and nearly branded a criminal himself. Had he encountered that situation a few years later, he would surely have been wrongly imprisoned.

In truth, Ning Caichen has always been a bit of an unlucky soul. Ever since he set out on his debt-collecting journey to Guo Bei County, fortune has never favored him. Just moments ago, his ledger was soaked by rain, leaving him without proof of debt, and he was promptly thrown out by an innkeeper. Just as he was looking for a place to stay for free, he saw that lunatic Xu Wang shouting, "Everyone, eyes on me!"

When their eyes met, Ning Caichen was startled and immediately turned to leave, desperate to put some distance between himself and Xu Wang. Xu Wang originally had no intention of bothering with Ning, but upon seeing the look on Ning's face, he became instantly intrigued. The more Ning fled, the more Xu pursued. The two went from a slow walk to a brisk pace, then a jog, and finally a full-blown sprint, all in less than ten seconds. Ning Caichen felt as if he were being chased by a stray dog, pursued by Xu Wang across nearly half of Guo Bei County.

"Stop! Stop! Just stop! Why are you chasing me?!" Ning Caichen panted, leaning against a wall, utterly bewildered. They were complete strangers; he could not fathom why Xu Wang was so relentless.

Xu Wang, having chased Ning the entire way, was also catching his breath. He replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "You ran the moment you saw me, so I assumed you owed me money."

Ning Caichen’s expression stiffened. He opened his mouth, but seeing the earnest look on Xu Wang's face, he found himself speechless. Resigned to his fate, he looked at Xu and asked with a dry voice, "Tell me, what do you want from me?"

Xu Wang walked slowly up to him and asked kindly, "Are you hungry?"

Ning Caichen wanted to say no, but he was indeed starving and penniless. In the end, he could only nod.

"Here, I still have a steamed bun. I’m not hungry, so you have it." As Xu Wang spoke, he produced the bun that Xiahou had given him earlier.

Ning Caichen was speechless. Isn't this the same bun he had discarded? He never expected Xu Wang to have picked it up again—why was he so persistent? There was no choice; things had reached this point, so Ning could only comply and accept the bun.

"I introduced myself earlier, but I'm Xu Wang. Everyone who knows me calls me Brother Wang." After speaking, Xu Wang stared at Ning Caichen with a piercing gaze, his mouth slightly parted as if urging him to say something.

Ning Caichen felt helpless, but finding himself in this predicament, he obliged. "Nice to meet you, Brother Wang."

"Good, good, good!" Xu Wang was delighted to be addressed as Brother Wang. He continued, "I live alone, and my house is quite spacious. You are welcome to come stay with me. If you’re tired, you can just go to sleep—no problem at all!"

For some reason, even though it was a perfectly normal sentence, it sounded strange coming from Xu Wang’s mouth.

"But didn't you just arrive in Guo Bei County as well? You have a house here?" Ning Caichen was skeptical.

"I don't have a house in the county town, but I have an old estate outside the city, left behind by my ancestors. I came to Guo Bei County this time to check on that old place." Xu Wang lied through his teeth without a blush or a change in breath, his tone sounding highly convincing.

Seeing this, Ning Caichen actually started to believe him. He pondered for a moment: he was penniless and unable to collect his debts. If Xu Wang truly had a place to stay, it would solve his immediate crisis. He studied Xu Wang carefully. While his behavior was indeed strange, he looked decent enough. He shouldn't be too quick to judge him as a bad person. Perhaps he was just a man with a simple, honest heart.

"Then I shall impose upon you!" Ning Caichen took two steps back and bowed.

Xu Wang accepted the gesture calmly and led Ning back toward the main street. "We don't have much food on us. Let's go to the market and buy some supplies so we don't go hungry." As he spoke, he glanced at the dirty bun in Ning's hand and sighed, "Did you refuse to eat it because you thought it was dirty? Back at the wooden shed, you even threw it away."

Ning Caichen mumbled, not knowing how to respond.

"Forget it. If you won't eat it, give it to me. We shouldn't waste food. Many people out there are fighting over grass roots just to survive." As he spoke, Xu Wang reached out and took the bun from Ning’s hand.

Seeing this, Ning Caichen felt a deep sense of shame. Regardless of everything, he was a scholar who had studied the classics for years; he naturally understood the value of every grain of rice. Here he was, being picky with food, while Xu Wang—whom he had dismissed as a freak—cherished it like gold.

Ning Caichen felt as if Xu Wang were glowing, shining so brightly that he could barely keep his eyes open. Wait—it wasn't just a feeling! Xu Wang was actually glowing! Or, to be precise, the strange gauntlet on Xu Wang's left hand was emitting a blinding light that made it hard for Ning to see.

"If you can recognize your mistakes, there is still hope for you." Xu Wang watched as Ning turned away to rub his eyes, and he satisfiedly switched off the high-intensity tactical light on his personal terminal. He truly didn't mind the dusty bun, and in a few bites, he finished it off.

Xu Wang’s behavior remained as inscrutable as ever, but his recent actions had earned him some respect in Ning Caichen’s eyes, even making the scholar feel inferior. His initial wariness began to fade.

Following Xu Wang into a shop, Ning Caichen looked around, puzzled. "Why are we in a pawnshop? I thought we were going to buy food?"

Xu Wang’s expression didn't change as he said quite naturally, "I picked up some trash, and I'm here to sell it to clear out my inventory."

"Ah?" Ning Caichen was baffled. There wasn't a single obscure word in that sentence, yet he found it incredibly difficult to understand.

"What are you looking to pawn?" The shopkeeper sat behind the counter, eyeing Xu Wang with half-closed lids.

Xu Wang tapped his personal terminal. Five sets of lamellar armor, five long sabers, and various scattered items appeared on the wooden counter. The shopkeeper was so shocked by this display of conjuring items from thin air that his eyes widened in terror.

Behind him, Ning Caichen reacted the same way. He was startled at first, then realization dawned on him. Why did these items look so familiar? He noticed the bloodstains on them. Ning immediately understood—these were the belongings of the bandits killed by Xiahou outside the city!

"How could you take other people's things?!" Ning Caichen whispered urgently, pulling Xu Wang aside.

Xu Wang, however, seemed more anxious than him. "You, you, you! How can you slander my reputation? I didn't take anyone's things! These were just lying around, and I went through the effort of picking them up! They are the fruits of my own labor!"